South and Vale Economic Development

Are you a local business owner looking for the latest news, funding opportunities and resources?

Don’t miss out on the South and Vale Business Support newsletter. Delivered biweekly, it’s packed with essential updates to help your business thrive, including:

✅ The latest business news
✅ Opportunities
✅ Grant funding alerts
✅ Resources
✅ Events

Join over 2,000 other local entrepreneurs who stay informed. Simply sign up via our website – we’ve done the hard work for you! Link in comments.

https://tinyurl.com/SODCnews

We had a great time yesterday at the Hilton Garden Inn in Abingdon for our Visitor Economy Connect session!

Local hospitality leaders recently joined us for an insightful session featuring Kirk Dennyschene of Bluezone Media, who shared how AI can revolutionise business marketing. We also heard from Graham Haynes (Tourism South East) regarding the latest Visit Southern Oxfordshire stats, and previewed our plans for the upcoming May half-term and summer campaigns.

Big thanks to Keeley Dennyschene for hosting!

Councillors head to Culham Campus!

Last week, members from both councils, including Leaders Cllr Maggie Filipova-Rivers (South Oxfordshire District Council) and Cllr Bethia Thomas (Vale of White Horse District Council), visited Culham Campus alongside our Economic Development team, organised by the Chair of South Oxfordshire District Council, Cllr Katharine Keats-Rohan.

Their visit included an overview of research and development at Culham from the UK Atomic Energy Authority, a visit to the Joint European Torus (JET) and Culham's Robotics Centre RACE. Members also met with apprentices at Oxfordshire Advanced Skills Centre (OAS) for high-tech training, and heard more about on the Campus' status as an AI Growth Zone.

With planned growth at the campus, it was a great opportunity for the councils to find out more about the projects taking place and understand how members can work with partners at Culham to support delivery of economic and community benefits for the local area.

Culham Campus

The countdown is on! Next Thursday, we’re bringing together local tourism and hospitality organisations at the Hilton Garden Inn in Abingdon for a morning of networking, using AI for marketing, and insights into our Southern Oxfordshire project.

If you haven’t secured your spot yet, now is the time, as spaces are going quickly and only a few remain!

Don't miss the chance to connect with peers and help shape the future of our local tourism landscape. Register for your FREE space below. 👇

https://visitoreconomyconnectmay.eventbrite.co.uk

Most people assume the council just wants their money for council tax and business rates, but the business support team can help you for FREE.

We’ve designed a new leaflet to outline how we can help businesses in South and Vale.

Visit our website to find out more!

https://www.southandvale.gov.uk/economic-development/

There's something for everyone this weekend in Southern Oxfordshire!

📍 Fleetwood Shack at The Beacon, Wantage
📍 'Go Electric: Abingdon' by Vale of White Horse District Council and Oxfordshire County Council
📍 Watlington Concert Band – A British Celebration
📍 Fairmile Vineyard open tour & taste
📍 St Georges Day Celebration with Love Wantage
📍 ‘Jazz in the Vines’ The Christian Garrick Corktet at Oaken Grove Vineyard

Find more local events on our website - link in our 'About' section! 🌟

Tickets are going fast for our next Visitor Economy Connect event!

Visitor Economy Connect is a networking and support session focused on the visitor economy, aimed at engaging local hospitality businesses.

This time, we'll be covering how to use AI for marketing your business, a current hot topic!

Wednesday 13 May • 10am - 12pm
Hilton Garden Inn Abingdon

This session will cover what ChatGPT is and what it can do, getting set up, free vs. Pro, using the mobile app, customing ChatGPT for your business and prompting basics.

Register for your free place via Eventbrite. 👇
https://visitoreconomyconnectmay.eventbrite.co.uk/

Happy Earth Day! 🌍

No matter how small your business or what industry you’re in, acting on climate change could make a real difference to the planet and to your customers, and you could also make cost savings from using resources more efficiently.

Check out our free Net zero guides to discover what your business can do to become more sustainable!

http://tinyurl.com/SODCnetzeroguides

The latest South & Vale Business Support newsletter is out now!

This week, we're focusing on our next Visit Southern Oxfordshire Visitor Economy Connect event, taking place on 13 May. This time, we'll be showing you how to market your business with AI. Further details can be found below.

We're also highlighting free employee wellbeing and mental health support, South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils' review of off-street parking orders, Abingdon's new larger business forum, Small Business Britain's The Great British Pitch, Enterprise Nation's free business support guides, planning for the May bank holidays and half-term via the Southern Oxfordshire website, UK Atomic Energy Authority's 16th Supplier's Event, the next Breakfast of Champions event and Small Business Britain's Side Hustle Lab.

Read it now! 👇

https://campaign.emailblaster.cloud/MTE1MTQ/622.html

Are you a local business owner looking for the latest news, funding opportunities and resources?

Don’t miss out on the South and Vale Business Support newsletter. Delivered biweekly, it’s packed with essential updates to help your business thrive, including:

✅ The latest business news
✅ Opportunities
✅ Grant funding alerts
✅ Resources
✅ Events

Join over 2,000 other local entrepreneurs who stay informed. Simply sign up via our website – we’ve done the hard work for you! Link in comments.

https://tinyurl.com/SODCnews

If you are looking for financial support to grow your business, launch a community project or fund groundbreaking research, the UK Government’s Find a Grant service can help.

You can use the service to:

🔹 access government grant funding
🔹 search and filter to find a grant that matches your needs
🔹 find out if you are eligible to apply for a grant
🔹 find out how to apply for a grant.

You can also save your search criteria and sign up for a weekly email alert. This ensures you’re the first to know when a new grant matching your needs is uploaded.

Find a grant for your organisation via the Government's website. 👇

https://www.find-government-grants.service.gov.uk/